The Queensland Astrofest has been the major star party in Queensland since its inception in 1993, and is open to all amateur astronomers.
In November 2018 the Astronomical Association of Queensland (AAQ) announced that grants from the Edward Corbould Research Fund (ECRF) would be made available to fund astronomical research by Australian amateur astronomers commencing in July 2019. Applications for funding up to the value of $6,000 were invited, to be received by the AAQ General Secretary no later than 28 February 2019. Projects requiring in excess of this amount may be considered under special circumstances
See some of the images taken by our talented astrophotographers
2018 was a very special year for the Astronomical Association of Queensland when we celebrated our 40th anniversary. The inaugural meeting of the AAQ in its current form was held back in March 1978 and our original home was the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, which coincidentally also celebrated its 40-year anniversary in 2018.
To mark this occasion, we held special events throughout the year so that everyone had a chance to partake in our celebrations. These events culminated in July 2018, where we held our General Meeting at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, and in November where we dedicated the entire OGM to mark this milestone event. We invited past Presidents and other notable guests to join in our celebrations. Special awards were granted to notable members and we enjoyed many nostalgic presentations which reflected on our history.
The November General Meeting included a special commemorative dinner to celebrate our 40th anniversary and was an overwhelming
success. Members can view videos of the November Meeting….
As required by our Constitution, the Association publishes Annual Proceedings, usually close to the beginning of a calendar year and before the Annual General Meeting. Reports considered at the AGM are published in the Annual Proceedings, including the Office Bearers’ reports, Financial Statements and Research Project reports. The Association is also required by law to deposit a copy of our publications with the State Library of Queensland. The requirement is contained in part 8 of the Libraries Act 1988 (Qld). The public can access our Newsletters and Annual Proceedings via the State Library.
Access to the Annual Proceedings stored online by AAQ is at this link
Access documents relating to joining the AAQ or being a Member of the AAQ at this link:
The AAQ publishes a monthly Newsletter for Members for the months February to December. Our preference is to distribute the Newsletters as PDF documents which avoids the cost of postage, provides advantages such as full colour and searching for text, and increases accessibility. Members can elect to get an A5, black and white paper copy sent to them.
Access the newsletters at this link:
Firstly in 2015 and again in 2019, the AAQ Council completed a strategic planning process which involved all members of the Council. On both occasions the planning process was facilitated by 2017 and 2018 President Ben Pace. The process provided an opportunity to reflect on how the AAQ can continue to expand the knowledge and understanding of astronomy through scientific endeavour.
Council intends to continue to deliver against our stated objectives, with a particular focus on our :
The outcome from the planning process has been captured in the folder at this link: Strategy documents
A selection of books, atlases, magazines, computer software, videos, audio tapes, slides, posters and AAQ records are available from the AAQ Library for loan to members free of charge. The following conditions apply to borrowing library material:
| Item | Maximum Loan Period |
| Magazines (< 6 months old) | 1 month |
| Magazines (6 – 12 months old) | 2 months |
| Magazines (> 1 year old) | 4 months |
| Books (< 5 years old) | 2 months |
| Books (> 5 years old) | 4 months |
| Atlases / Computer Software / Videos / Audio / Images / Posters |
4 months |
